A local farm owner and a professional hunter, who took part in the plan to lure the lion away, have been arrested in connection to the case and are facing poaching charges.
Advertisement
Palmer, a dentist from Bloomington, Minnesota, was on a safari hunt in Zimbabwe when he shot a lion with a bow and arrow, according to the StarTribune.
Zimbabwean prosecutors’ documents accuse Bronkhorst of failing to “prevent an unlawful hunt”.
“As far as I understand, Walter believes that he might have shot that lion that has been referred to as Cecil”, the spokesman said.
The poachers and Palmer had gone out at night with a spotlight and lured Cecil with a dead animal.
Palmer allegedly paid $50 000 for the hunt.
We have to bring in [hunting] bans on certain species of animals, like the lion and the endangered animals, so that this doesn’t occur again.
“Ethics are certainly against baiting”. How is that not important consumer information that will allow consumers to make informed choices based on all of the facts available?
He said: “I hired several professional guides, and they secured all proper permits”.
Palmer, who shot Cecil with a powerful bow and arrow, said he had “relied on the expertise of my local professional guides to ensure a legal hunt”.
The six cubs of Cecil will now be killed by the new male lion in the pride, Johnny Rodrigues added, in order to encourage the lionesses to mate with him. The statement, emailed to The Associated Press, came from Ingrid Newkirk, president of the animal rights organization.
The two appeared at the Hwange magistrate’s court, about 435 miles (700 kilometers) west of the capital Harare. But the proceedings were delayed because prosecutors are “making their assessments”, defense lawyer Givemore Muvhiringi said. The two face up to 15-years in prison if found guilty.
It is outlawed in Zimbabwe’s national parks.
The hunters tried to destroy it, but failed.
Palmer released a statement through a public relations firm after being identified by officials as the American involved in the hunt. He was given one-year probation and fined almost 3,000 US dollars (£1,913). Such hunting, while controversial, can be done legally in Zimbabwe and elsewhere, and is intended to raise money for wildlife conservation because of the huge sums paid to engage in the hunts.
But Brent Stapelkamp, who was part of an Oxford University scientific team that studied Cecil for seven years, said that hunters would have known what they were doing.
CORNISH: Tell us a little bit about Cecil, why this particular lion was so famous.
Flocken said the slaying of Cecil was particularly troubling because of the sharp decline in African lion populations, which have dropped almost 60% in the last three decades.
Cecil’s death was cruel, in Rodrigues’ account.
Advertisement
The 13-year-old lion’s head was reportedly cut off as a trophy, and his skin was taken as well.
